Why I'm Staying Out of the Crossfit Box

I've been wanting to try Crossfit for a while. I like intense workouts. I like group workouts. I like lifting heavier weights. I was interested in trying box jumps and Olympic style lifting. Bob Harper is a big fan of Crossfit and I'm a big fan of his. I figured Crossfit and I would fit like a hand in glove. I read about the criticisms but I wanted to experience it myself and come to my own conclusions. So when I saw a great Groupon deal for 20 classes and had a friend who wanted to try it with me, I figured I had the perfect opportunity.

I will preface my judgement by saying that just like most fitness experiences, every Crossfit "box" is going to be a little different. I only have experience with the one I tried and the four instructors I took classes from there. My experience is by no means universal and should not be taken as an evaluation of Crossfit on the whole; however, my experience did reinforce some of the main criticisms I've been hearing about Crossfit for years.

Here's my take-away:

1. Crossfit Instructors can be bullies. There is a fine line between encouraging participants and bullying them. As a fitness professional, my approach to working with new clients is to assess them and figure out what they are already capable of BEFORE I tell them they can do more, faster. It seemed that because I look relatively fit, the instructors assumed I could do heavy weights (I exercise a lot but haven't been doing any strength training for months). When I listened to them the first few classes, I ended up so sore I could barely move for days. In the last two classes I took (#7 & #8), I explained to the instructor that I would not do the weight he was suggesting because I had to be able to teach my own classes and couldn't be THAT sore. He pushed until I got irritated and then finally he backed off. It's one thing to encourage people to push their limits, it's another to make them feel like lazy-losers if they are not performing to your expectations.

2. Crossfit is all about doing it fast, heavy, and A LOT. I strongly believe that form HAS to come before reps or speed. While the instructors gave that idea lip service, they certainly seemed to care more about speed and completion than safety. As much as I know about proper form and tried to be careful, even I ended up overdoing it and having sore muscles which should not have been active during certain exercises (my low back after doing dead lifts). I cringe to think how many people are injuring themselves because they are finishing with poor form due to fatigue.

3. The instructors contradicted each other about form. I had a really hard time figuring out the Olympic power lifting exercises, moves like the "wall ball", and even a basic squat because all 4 of the instructors demonstrated and taught the moves differently. I didn't feel confident that I was performing the exercises correctly and while the instructors tried to give corrections, I didn't feel like they could, or did, spend enough time teaching the moves thoroughly or consistently.

4. Crossfit puts you on stage at your most vulnerable. This is totally personal to me and is obviously not a feeling shared by everyone, but I only like being watched when I am good at something. At the end of one of the workouts, one participant was finishing his WOD, a descending ladder of wall balls and dead lifts. He had 3 rounds to go when participants started gathering around him to cheer him on. I realize that everyone had the best intentions, but all I could think about was that if I were him ~ exhausted, shaky, overwhelmed ~ and I had a crowd of people telling me to "finish strong", "keep pushing", "do it again, faster", I would want to punch each of them in the throat. I am ready to look foolish and take risks in life, but if I'm being singled out in a workout, I don't want it to be because I'm the last one to finish.

5. The workouts are not Functional Fitness. I get the idea behind keeping the WODs simple, however, basic fitness principles tell us that we need to work ALL of the muscles in our body. Every workout doesn't need to hit every muscle, but you have to hit them all at some point. I don't recall a single upper body "pull" exercise in the 8 classes I took. We had one workout which was essentially an hour of squats. Even with complex or hybrid movements, you will miss major muscle groups if you only do 2 or 3 of them in a workout.

The individual workouts were unbalanced and the WODs throughout the week didn't correct for it. The last class I took was a lot of deadlifts. My friend continued to take classes that week and out of the 5 days she looked at the WODs, 4 were primarily dead lifts! Where is the recovery period for those muscles? What about all of the other muscles you aren't working when you're doing 150 deadlifts every day? Maybe other Crossfit boxes are better at balancing the workouts, but based on most of the WODs I've viewed online, I doubt it. And for most of the classes, we barely warmed up. A couple of times, we were instructed to go straight into a 400 meter run in the freezing cold as our "warm-up". There was also typically no cool-down or stretching at the end of class. Again, the workouts seemed to lack the balance we are taught is necessary for a body that functions well in real life, rather than a body that just performs well in a specific workout.

For me, Crossfit was a learning experience.  I learned that as a participant, I don't like the military, bootcampy feel. I learned that while I like to strive for a high level of performance, if the expectations are unrealistic, I just feel like a loser. I learned that I get bored with a workout that consists of just a few movements. I learned that I don't like Olympic power lifting. I learned that I do like box jumps and wall balls. I learned that as an instructor, I always want to balance motivating my clients and pushing them to improve, with taking care of them and putting their safety first. I learned that any workout that leaves my muscles so sore and bruised feeling that I can't sit on the toilet without pain days after the workout is not okay for me. Finally, I learned not to wear a lace thong to Crossfit because when you do a gazillion Crossfit style sit-ups, you will wear away three layers of skin at the top of your butt-crack and will be in agony for weeks.

What's your opinion on Crossfit?

Chair Exercise Video

Florence, one of my awesome students at TASC

I know I've mentioned before how much I love my job. Every week I get to hang out with the coolest people on the planet, helping them improve their physical and mental health. The classes at the Tustin Area Senior Center in Orange County, California are all low cost or FREE! In our efforts to keep it this way, we've produced a video of our Basic Chair Exercise Class which we are selling as a fundraiser. The video is $10 ($11 if you'd like it shipped to you) and all proceeds go directly to the Tustin Area Senior Center Fund. To purchase, please contact me at brooke@hbwbrooke.com.

The workout in the video is designed to be appropriate for most exercisers. Participants can use the chair as much or as little as needed and should modify movements as they see fit. Please consult your physician before performing any exercise program.

Here are a couple of clips from the hour-long workout video:

Basic Chair Exercise Warm-up: New York, New York

Basic Chair Exercise Strength Work: Fever

Playing Tug-O-War With the Ocean

A few weeks ago we were at the beach trying to eke as much fun out of the end of summer as we could. Towards the end of the day, our daughter saw a huge kelp bundle floating in on the waves. I guess she decided that it needed to be part of the sand sculpture they were building because she spent the next 45 minutes or so trying to bring it all of the way out of the water. My husband and I watched her, and laughed, and marveled at her persistence. At one point I said, "Only she would play tug-o-war with the ocean and think she's gonna' win." I noticed that my smallish 8 year-old was frequently trying to use her bodyweight to muscle the kelp up the beach instead of using the motion of the ocean to help her. The other day, the image of her fighting the ocean popped into my head as I was waging my own internal tug-o-war.

I struggle with balance. A lot. And I'm really awful at time-management. As sad as I was to see summer end, I was excited that THIS school year, both kids would be in school ALL day!!!! More time to work, more time to get housework done, more time for ME :) The first day they were back in school I unfroze my gym membership so that I could start taking classes again. I promised myself that I would schedule in time for my own personal workouts. We're a week and a half in and even though I really do feel like I have more time, I'm still constantly being tugged in multiple directions. The feeling of being pulled apart is not new and isn't even entirely uncomfortable for me. The hard part is the guilt I feel once I make a decision . . . a huge wave of guilt crashes in and sucks my positive energy away with it. I choose to stay at the PTA meeting and miss Yoga . . .  a wave crashes over me that I'm not sticking to my exercise plan. I take a Zumba class instead of doing the laundry and cleaning the house . . . a wave crashes over me that I'm not taking care of my family. I get a chance to take on a new personal training client or teach a new class in the afternoon . . . a wave crashes over me that it means less time with the kids. I choose to go to Yoga instead of helping to set up the Book Fair . . . a wave crashes over me that I'm not pulling my weight at the school. It seems that no matter how much more *time* I seem to have, and no matter what I choose, I feel like I'm losing.  

What I realized the other day is that the only way to win is to stop fighting. I kept thinking as I watched my daughter that if she would wait for the wave to bring the kelp almost all the way up and then pushed it as a mass to the farthest point of the wave, the kelp would not get pulled all the way back in as the wave receded. If she just waited patiently, the next big wave would help her push the kelp a little farther into shore. Patience and Strategy. I've realized that there are a lot of opportunities for me to exercise. There are a lot of ways that I spend time with my kids and help them (including making money to help support our family and provide experiences for them). There are a gazillion ways I will be able to help out at school this year. I just need to be patient and work on my time-management. Patience and Strategy. And when the waves crash in, and I start to feel guilty about whichever decision I make, I need to turn that feeling around. Instead of letting my positive feelings get sucked away, I need to let the receding wave take away the guilt. We all have multiple demands on us at any given moment: jobs, romantic partners, kids, family members, friends, pets, volunteer organizations, personal endeavors and hobbies. It is impossible to say yes to everything and to make everyone happy; we all know that. But it's not enough to just learn how to say "no" ~ we have to actually accept that it's okay to say "no" and then, to let go of the guilt. We can't be everything, to everybody, all of the time. But we can be enough, for the people who really need us, when it matters. And right now, I'm going to practice floating on that knowledge and learn to enjoy the rhythm of the ocean.

Life-Lessons From an Ironman Triathlete

Palm Desert Triathlon -- Katie placed 1st in her age group (40-44)

I've always felt that one of the best ways to become a better person is to study people whom I admire. My friend Katie is tops on my list in a few categories. Not only is she a fantastic mother, an honest and reliable friend, and a very smart cookie, she is now also an Ironman Triathlete. While competing in a triathlon has never been on my bucket-list, I knew that I could apply what Katie has learned from her success in all of these areas to my own life. 

Katie has always been athletic and competitive and even played soccer for Stanford University with Julie Foudy.  She continued to stay fit through three pregnancies by running regularly. After undergoing knee surgery, however, her doctor suggested she stop running. Katie realized that she had taken her athletic body for granted and decided to start training for triathlons both to make the best of what her body could do now, and to extend her ability to exercise farther into her future.

Competing in triathlons has now become a major part of Katie’s life. She completes one or two big races a year and fits some smaller, single-activity races in between. She trains most days of the week with a combination of long swims, long bike rides, runs, or strength and conditioning work. She has traveled the world to compete, including a sprint triathlon in Australia and a full Ironman Triathlon in Canada. For anyone who is not super-familiar with triathlons (like me), an Ironman is a 2.1 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run (I know, HOLY CRAP!!!!, right?)

I am inspired by Katie’s accomplishments, however, as someone who hates to run and can’t imagine doing a triathlon, I wasn’t so interested in learning about triathlons or the training itself. What I really wanted to know was how she fit all of that training into the rest of her busy life as a wife and mother. And I wanted to know how she has maintained her focus and commitment to this lifestyle for years. 

Here are the life-lessons Katie shared with me:

1.       Figure out what makes you “sing inside” and find a way to do it. Living your passion makes you happier which makes you much better as a person and a parent. It also sets a wonderful example for your children. Katie’s parents set this example for her and she, in turn, is teaching her children this valuable lesson. Whether her kids compete in triathlons or not, they will value physical activity and hopefully make time for whatever makes them sing inside. Side note: her 10 year old son Patrick has already competed in 2 kids' triathlons and will be competing in the Pacific Coast Triathlon this September!

2.       Identify your purpose. Every workout should have its own specific purpose which should fit into a framework of the overall training goals. Having a goal gives you focus. Triathlons provide clear results that show how the training is paying off which keeps her motivated. Even her off-season rest is purposeful; it would be impossible to keep up that kind of training and focus all year-round.  Wanting to be successful in the triathlons prompts her to eat better, rest, sleep, and recover because those things are as important as the training itself.

 

3.       Get support. Katie trains with a team and a paid coach. Her teammates encourage her and her coach gives her invaluable knowledge and support.  She makes sure that she communicates with her family about how her training affects all of them. Her husband, Steve, is very supportive, taking care of the kids' needs while she trains. Sometimes she is away for hours on long bike rides or at competitions. She frequently “checks in” with Steve to make sure that she’s not leaning on him too much. She also  touches base with her children and asks that they let her know if they feel that she is away training too much.

 

My favorite quote from the interview is: “There will always be things that need to get done, and they WILL get done.” When she gets on the bike she just focuses on the pedaling and within a few pedal strokes the endorphins start to kick in and the to-do list starts to fade away. It becomes meditative. She said it’s her Prozac. She recognizes that other things can be put off or delegated to others allows her to focus on her workout. This is possible because she has built and maintains such a strong support system. 

4.       You can do more than you think you can. You may have to break the task down into smaller challenges, but you’ll still be moving in the right direction!  Katie said that competing in triathlons has changed her definition of “hard”. Now she feels like if anything seems too difficult, it just means that she needs more practice. While she always feels nervous before a race, she knows that in order to accomplish anything, she needs to push into uncomfortable zones. Competing in triathlons gives her the opportunity to keep raising the bar for herself and challenging her body in new ways. Since I interviewed Katie, I run this as a loop in my head when I workout. And she's correct; it is very empowering.

I won't be competing in any triathlons, but I've already applied these lessons in other areas of my life and I know that I am better for it. Thanks Katie! 

How will you apply these lessons in your own life?

 

                                                                                                               

Stretch Video

This video is a stretch segment I've used in both my Boogie Body and Strength and Stretch classes. You can use a yoga strap or necktie for the stretches that require assistance. Please be sure you warm up your muscles before doing a static stretch routine like the one I've posted.

I hope you enjoy it! Click here to view

Getting Started

I was recently interviewed for an article about fitness and the reporter's questions prompted me to consider the advice I'd give to someone who is ready to make a lifestyle change but isn't sure where to begin. Here are 4 simple ways to get started with a fitness routine sure to help you achieve your goals:

1. Think of what you enjoyed doing as a kid. If you loved the feeling of freedom and speed you got when you were riding your bike around the neighborhood, then dust off your bike, put on a helmet, and go for it! If you loved being part of a team, join an adult league and start training for your sport (just watch out for the culture of beer and snacks after the game). If you were a dancer or gymnast like me, and loved the way the music made you want to move your body, find an exercise class like Zumba or Boogie Body and start shaking it! When you choose an activity you enjoy, especially one that brings back happy memories, you are much more likely to commit yourself and follow through. When it comes to fitness, the best workout is the one you'll do consistently!

2. Start small. One of the biggest mistakes people make when they embark upon a new fitness routine is going too big, too fast. When people finally reach the action stage in making a change, they are highly motivated and excited to see results. Often, this leads to taking on challenges that are greater than their bodies are ready for. This is especially true for people who have been active and fit in the past. I've dealt with this a lot as a personal trainer. People come to me saying, "well I was an athlete in high school" or "I used to ride my bike 250 miles a week" or "I used to bench press 200 lbs.".  So they begin by working out too frequently, or too intensely, and then burn out. This has many physical, emotional, and psychological consequences. A better approach is to figure out what your fitness level is TODAY and then set modest goals that allow for rest and recovery. Personal trainers are a fantastic resource to assist you in formulating a plan that is reasonable and will still get you the results you seek. 

3. Find a buddy. I finally did this again and it has helped me be more consistent with my own workouts than I have been in a LONG time! My friend comes to my house early in the morning and we work out in my studio. Knowing that she will be at my front door gets me out of bed even on the toughest of mornings. I also push myself much harder when I'm working out with someone else. We've even inspired a few other friends who are now planning to join us. I am a social person and having both the camaraderie and accountability of working out with others keeps me focused and consistent.

4. Think "Functional Fitness". There are a lot of really fantastic ways to exercise. I recently took a series of classes that were clearly effective at body shaping, however, none of the movements matched the way we move in every day life. While I love the idea of looking good, I primarily work out to make life easier. I want my workouts to make it easier for me to carry groceries, lift my kids, move furniture, walk my dog, play with my kids in the backyard, and fight ninjas or zombies. To create a functional fitness routine, think about how your life affects your body and how changing your body can help you live a better life. If you sit all day at a desk, you are going to have a different set of challenges than someone who works at a retail job. Just as athletes train for their sports (specificity), you should train for your life. If you work at a computer all day, your primary needs will probably be to strengthen your back, abdominal, and gluteal muscles, and to stretch your chest and hip flexor muscles. Again, a personal trainer can be a fantastic resource to help you figure out how to get started on an exercise program that will fit your life and be effective for your body's specific needs.

Now it's time for you to grab a friend and get moving!!!

"Rock Me" Zumba Demo

If you'd like to see a routine we do in my Zumba and Boogie Body classes, click here. The song is "Rock Me" by the Bastard Winos and is available on iTunes. So get up and dance!

Victory Is Yours!

Our 60 days of the Healthier You Challenge have come and gone. How did you do? Most of you are probably like me: I made some good progress but didn't consistently meet all of my challenges. I assessed and tweaked along the way. I patted myself on the back some and kicked myself in the butt some. I didn't achieve major physical transformations but I do feel like I learned some valuable lessons and adopted some good behaviors along the way.

The challenges you set for yourself will largely determine how you assess your progress. Hopefully you wrote out your challenges so you can look back at them now to review what you've accomplished. Your challenges were supposed to be process-oriented rather than goal-oriented but you also stated desired outcomes. These are generally how we measure our success.

Here are a few of the responses I've gotten from people about the outcomes they've earned by challenging themselves to adopt healthy behaviors like quitting smoking, drinking more water, eating a healthier diet, exercising, taking vitamins, and sleeping more: 

• Look younger
• Breathe easier
• Sleep better
• Better digestion, fewer stomach aches
• Less moody
• Improved overall mood
• Reduced stress
• Fewer headaches
• Improved relationships
• Able to get things done more easily (housework, yardwork, etc)
• Clothes fit better
• Improved blood sugar levels
• Improved blood pressure
• Improved cholesterol levels
• Fewer falls
• More independent (have the strength and agility to lift, bend, carry, etc.)
• Can put on underwear without holding on to the dresser (still my personal favorite!)

For any and all improvements in health behaviors, people generally find that they experience emotional changes as well. Many of us feel:

• More confident
• More competent
• More energetic
• Happier
• More optimistic

When you change a health behavior successfully and feel the emotions above, you might also feel more able to take on other challenges in your life. The tools I've given you during the Healthier You Challenge can be applied to virtually any area of your life. Are you stressed about money? Do you feel rushed and anxious a lot? Are you afraid to have anyone over because your house is always messy? Are you unhappy with your performance at work? Why not set some challenges in these areas? Remember these key steps:

1. State challenges in the positive
2. Make your challenges process-oriented rather than goal oriented
3. Make challenges Specific, Measurable, and Achievable
4. Scaffold and Hook behaviors
5. Log your behaviors
6. Reassess and Tweak as needed
7. Give yourself credit
8. Keep challenging yourself in new ways as you maintain the behaviors you've already changed
9. Make a fresh start if you need to

You can always refer back to previous posts if you need a refresher on any of these steps.

I'd love to hear from all of you about the changes you made, the benefits you earned, and what new challenges you are planning. Your experiences might help other people change their lives too!

Is FOMO Holding You Back?

A few months ago I read an article about FOMO -- Fear of Missing Out. The author argued that one impact of social media has been that we now overextend ourselves because we're so afraid of missing an opportunity. She used examples like seeing a friend post fun photos on Facebook of a dinner out that you couldn't attend. The result of having a few experiences like that leads us to say "yes" too often, wreaking havoc on our schedules, our bodies and our minds which all need some rest. As I read the article, I kept thinking about how for most of my life, being healthy was fraught with FOMO moments. Here are a few FOMO inducing situations and how you might be able to deal with them:

1. FOMO: Social Events -- In our culture, socializing and celebrating often revolve around food and alcohol. Sometimes, we feel like the only way to stick to healthy behavior changes is to avoid social situations where we will be challenged. Rather than feel like you are missing out, can you change the way you and your social circle spend time together? Here are a few ideas: 

Invite friends and coworkers for a walk or hike.

Instead of a dinner-out with your spouse, try a new fitness class together (like, maybe Zumba? wink-wink). Couples who take on new challenges together tend to be happier. Plus, studies show that when you work out, dopamine levels in your brain increase which makes you feel more loving toward your partner. Double-Bonus!

I will be teaching Stroller Strides soon and one of the aspects of the program I like best is that it gives parents a chance to socialize with each other and to build a community while everyone is getting fit! Much better than Moms and Muffins (or Moms and Margaritas).

Maybe exercise is not part of your Healthier You Challenge. Maybe you are trying to eat healthier foods, quit drinking alcohol, or quit smoking. What if you learned something new with your friends that didn't revolve around eating, drinking, or smoking? Take up knitting, or woodworking, or photography.

 

 

Maybe you are trying to get more sleep but you stay up late with your partner, or friends, or on social media like facebook. It may not be a matter then of changing your environment or activity but of setting clear boundaries with the people in your life and explaining those boundaries to them. "Hey, _________, I really love our late night chats but I'm trying to get more sleep. Could we get together for a walk twice a week instead?" If your social network is not on board with your healthy changes, it may be time to find some new friends. That may sound harsh, and I don't mean cut people out of your life entirely, but you may benefit from finding people who already engage in the healthy behaviors you are trying to adopt. Hang out with them, learn from them, be inspired by them. Create your own social events that incorporate your new, healthier lifestyle. You won't have FOMO because you'll be too busy having fun in different ways!

 

2. FOMO: Food --  For some of us, the only way to control what we eat is to control our environments and avoid being around certain foods that we tend to over-eat. You might be like me in that once I eat things like cookies or chips, I want to keep eating them, at that moment, and for the foreseeable future. I find that I have to pretty much eliminate high-calorie, low-nutrient foods to keep my weight stable (crackers, chips, sweets, ice cream). I found out a couple of years ago that I am allergic to gluten, eggs, and all dairy. While it is challenging to avoid these foods, I find I don't miss them as much as I thought I would. I use substitutions and I remind myself how awful I feel when I eat them. It almost always works. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that food is just food and that we really can live without eating certain things. Maybe not peanut butter. But just about everything else we can live without.

What provokes FOMO for you? How can you fill that space with something that will help you with your behavior challenges? Take some time this week to think about it and plan ahead for those FOMO moments!

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Make a Fresh Start

Random funny picture someone posted on Facebook

SCHOOL STARTED!!!!! I have very mixed feelings about this. My daughter started second grade today and my son started Kindergarten. While it was difficult to see my kids take one more step away from me in the whole growing up process, I'm so excited to have more time for my business and myself. And no more preschool tuition!!! Whoo-hoo!!! I've decided to channel all of my angst about my kids into new focus and dedication to achieving my own goals. With school (and soccer season) comes a lot of routine and scheduling. My plan is to build my personal challenges into THEIR routine as much as possible.

My desired outcomes in this Healthier You Challenge have been to increase my muscle strength and flexibility, and to reduce my body fat percentage. I've been hit or miss on following through with the challenges that would get me there. I struggled all summer to get into a weight lifting routine. Other than teaching my Zumba classes, I didn't really fit in much exercise. It seemed like every time I'd get into a groove doing strength training and yoga, something would come along and blow it to smithereens. So I decided that with this fresh start, I would make my health a priority. I've committed to walking the kids to school (1 mile each way). I will work up to running the parts that I'm alone. Today I did 3 round trips. I also bought a month of unlimited classes at The Bar Method. I plan to go to classes there 3-4 times a week, starting next week. I push myself much harder when I'm taking a class so I'm very excited to fit this in! These actions, in addition to teaching my regular classes, should help me reach my desired outcomes. After this month, I will reassess and possibly find a new kind of class to try (Crossfit, here I come!). Or maybe I'll be able to keep those times for working out at home with my suspension straps. So far, this is the only action they are getting:

So my focus right now is not so much what I'm actually doing with my body, but to get myself into a routine that allows me to fit in fitness while I continue to work, to spend time with my family, to help coach my son's soccer team, to do laundry, to go to the grocery store, etc., etc. A bonus is that I have time to chat with my kids as we walk to and from school (sometimes they even let me hold their hands!). And I have a couple of friends who will also be doing The Bar Method classes so I can pretend I have a social life!

Even if back-to-school isn't a relevant time marker for you, use this opportunity to evaluate your routine. Fall is coming and with it will come changes in the length of the day, the types of fruits and vegetables available, the kinds of clothes you are wearing, your ability to workout outside. Some of those changes may be ones you welcome and are excited about; some may pose a challenge. Take some time now to shake things up or to plan ahead for the changes you'll be facing. You can give yourself a fresh start any day. You can even buy yourself a new backpack for it.

 

Giving Credit When Credit Is Due

Since it's back to school time, I have a little test for you:

1. Have you fulfilled your challenges?
   
    A. 100% perfectly the entire Challenge thus far.
   
    B. Mostly. I've had a few slip-ups or had to make some
        changes, but I'm doing pretty well.
   
    C. It's been a major struggle and I've barely made any changes.
    
    D. I gave up the first day and just eat Nutter Butters while I read the Blog
        posts.

Hopefully you answered "B". If you answered "A" you are probably either delusional or a robot. If you answered "C", re-read some of the previous posts and see if there are some tweaks you can make either in how you articulate your challenges or how you structure your life in relation to them. If you answered "D", you should probably call me to set up a one-on-one session. Soon ;)

Interestingly, whether you answered "B" or "C" may have less to do with the percentage of change you actually made and more to do with your attitude toward yourself and your behaviors. Many times when we attempt behavior change, we pay a disproportionate amount of time beating ourselves up for "messing up" and very little time congratulating ourselves when we do well. If you've kept a log of your challenges this whole time, review it objectively and ask yourself how you would react if a friend or loved one showed you the same log. Would you berate them for the times they didn't follow through perfectly? Or would you congratulate them on their efforts and achievements thus far and encourage them to do better? Maybe you'd even have a conversation with them about the struggles they've had and try to help them problem solve. If you wouldn't have a log to show someone because you haven't been keeping track of your behaviors, START NOW!

I spent a lot of time last week thinking about this and paying attention to how I talk to myself about my behaviors. It was hard to force myself to give little mental pats on the back every time I made a good choice but even in just a few days, I got more comfortable with it. One day last week I was tired and busy and hungry. I had a Costco sized jar of peanut butter that was calling my name. I really wanted to sit on the couch just me, that jar of peanut butter and the Property Brothers. But I didn't! I cut up some melon, grabbed some turkey breast, and sat down at the dining room table with the kids while they ate their lunch. I was very proud of myself. Later that evening, I was hungry again and REALLY wanted peanut butter. So I spooned some out into a bowl and poured in a bunch of blueberries. I ate the mixture while I watched So You Think You Can Dance. It was more than a single serving of peanut butter and I know I shouldn't watch t.v. while I eat, but it was a reasonable amount and still better than sitting down with the whole jar (and possibly a carton of chocolate soy ice cream). So, baby steps. I finished the day feeling fairly positive about the choices I'd made and I felt like I'd strengthened my willpower muscle.

If you have a hard time giving yourself credit when you make a good choice, here are some ideas to make it a more conscious process.

1. A chart with squares. Each time you make a good choice, put a sticker in a square or make a check mark.
2. A clicker like the kind they use at the entrance to events. Click each time you make a good choice.
3. A string you keep in your purse or pocket. Make a knot each time you make a good choice.
4. A marble jar. Each time you make a good choice, drop a marble in the jar.
5. Pennies in your pocket. Start the day with all of the pennies in one pocket and then transfer one to the other pocket each time you make a good choice.
6. Use something on your smart phone. There has to be an app for that! (If not, please create one and give me royalties!)

Don't be afraid to give yourself credit for the little things or even for partial improvement. Something is better than nothing! After doing this for a few days, you should feel proud, encouraged, hopeful and more in control. I know I do.

Do you have any suggestions for how you can give yourself credit in a conscious way? Share them here please!

Losing Focus?

This is about the time in many people's drive for change when they start to really lose focus. The novelty is wearing off and they may not be seeing big results yet. This is when it is MOST important to get excited again!

I've said before that part of creating a challenge is to articulate how changing your behavior will improve your life. In The Beck Diet Solution, Psychologist Judith Beck calls it stating "the advantages". She suggests writing the advantages of your behavior change on index cards or even using the list as your computer screensaver. You should then review the list multiple times a day to maintain your focus and enthusiasm. Reminding yourself why you are changing the behaviors should make you more likely to actually change them.

Another way to keep it fresh is to add new challenges. Now that you've tweaked your plan and gained some momentum, you should be able to pick something that's a little harder. And remember not to beat yourself up if you haven't been perfectly consistent. I've had ups and downs the last few weeks and while I try not to make excuses, I also realize that real-life sometimes gets in the way of the best laid plans. If I'm doing better than I was before I started the challenge, I choose to see it as success. Try to pick something fun for your new challenge. I'm replacing one day of weight lifting with a workout using my new suspension straps (okay, I hear some of you saying, "really, that's fun?"). I get really amped about new exercise gadgets so now that I finally have the straps mounted in my workout room, I'm eager to try them.

If you feel like you're not getting anywhere, take a hard look at what's going on in your life and what behaviors you are trying to change. Maybe the benefits don't outweigh the difficulty right now. It's okay to not be ready to change. But if it's important to you, you CAN find a way to make it work. It might take more planning, or finding an incentive that really excites you, or changing your methods. If you believe that your behavior changes will improve your life, isn't it worth making them a priority? So bust out those index cards or find some other way to remind yourself why you are engaging in this challenge. And remember, I'm always here as a sounding board and problem solver!

Diet or Exercise?

I have heard a lot of discussion lately about a recent study regarding physical activity, metabolism, and weight. Researchers studied a group of 30 hunter-gatherers in an effort to determine how their physical activity affected their metabolisms. The basic finding was that their metabolisms adjusted to their high level of activity and low calorie consumption. They did not burn significantly more calories daily than most people living in developed societies who sit at a desk all day.

What some people are taking away from this is that exercise is not an effective tool for weight loss; that only what we eat makes a difference. THIS IS NOT TRUE!!! Even the authors of the study stated that, "Physical activity has important, positive effects on health, and increased physical activity has been shown to play an important role in weight loss and weight-maintenance programs."

If you are trying to lose weight, you should not be asking the question, "should I exercise or change my eating habits?" BOTH are important for weight management. One of my favorite quotes is, "You can't compete with what you eat." You can work your butt off in Zumba with me but if you leave and drink 2 margaritas you've probably just consumed more calories than you burned in class. Does that mean that class was a waste of time? Does it mean that you can't ever have a margarita again without feeling guilty? Of course not.

When we think about the food/exercise balance, we shouldn't think about exercise as a way to compensate for what we eat. In Zumba class one day, I really pushed myself hard. About halfway through class, one of the students asked, "What did you eat this weekend that you feel so guilty about?" This question made me laugh because my intensity wasn't about "burning off" anything I'd eaten, it was about working harder as part of a challenge I had set for myself. But there have been many times in my life where that is exactly what would have been going on. The sad thing is that it was never effective. I would severely restrict my diet, feel deprived, engage in gargantuan binges, then exercise excessively to try to "make up" for what I had eaten. But that was impossible. While I was engaging in that behavior I was overweight. And my weight fluctuated all the time. And I hated my body. And I felt like a total failure. Even long, hard exercise sessions couldn't burn the number of calories I was eating in those binges. And because the focus of those workouts was guilty feelings, I stopped enjoying exercise.

I saw a demonstration of this kind of thinking on a weight loss reality show once. A participant was struggling to change his eating habits and was still engaging in behaviors like bingeing on Oreos. The trainer had him hold two Oreo cookies in his hands as he walked up and down a flight of stairs. He wore a device that measured the calories he was expending and she had him keep going until he had burned the same number of calories as the two Oreos contained. He was at it for a LONG time! He said he had learned a valuable lesson and was going to ditch the Oreos. But I don't think that's the lesson we need. We have to be aware of the calories in, calories out equation, but we can't think of activity solely as a way to burn off those Oreos. We can eat the Oreos in moderation as long as we fit them into our overall target calorie consumption. And exercise should not be punishment or compensation for what we eat. If you're eating a generally healthy diet with a calorie intake that is less than your expenditure, you should be able to eat a couple of cookies here and there and still lose weight. 

A related note we can take from the Hunter-Gatherer study is that exercise can't be a green light to eat whatever we want. Part of the metabolism equation for the study participants was their very low calorie consumption. I have a new Zumba student who mentioned that since she started exercising more, and harder, she felt hungry, "ALL the time!". That is a pretty common experience. I cautioned her to eat when she felt hungry but to try to be sure that the foods she chose were healthy and nutritious and to keep an eye on the overall amount she was eating. It is awful to work hard at exercise and feel like we are not getting the results we're looking for. So really, anyone looking to achieve or maintain a healthy weight should engage in a consistent exercise routine AND have good eating habits.

The hunter-gatherer study reinforced that our bodies seek homeostasis. If you exercise, your body will adapt. If you cut your food consumption, your body will adapt. Our bodies are amazing, complicated machines. I will explore adaptation more in future posts. For now, eat healthy foods because they are yummy and they fuel your body. Exercise because it is good for you in many, many ways (and can be a lot of fun!).

So this week's challenge is to look critically at the way you think about the food/exercise equation. Do you need to change your thinking about why you eat the food you eat? About the feelings you have after you eat? About why you exercise? If so, now's a great time to practice! Permanent behavior change requires changing our thinking. Write down those negative thoughts and feelings and try to rewrite them with a healthier view. You can even post them here and I can help!

To read the entire article on the hunter-gatherer study, click here